A Different Path
by lovisa.johansson.963
Summary: Whitewing/Ashfur. What if they got together instead, and Ashfur didn't go all nutters? Find out in this story! Rated T cause paranoia runs in the family. Review if you read, please!
1. Prologue

Prologue  
~I'll Be Your Wings~

Ashfur watched with horror as a ring of fire surrounded Lionblaze and his littermates. He saw Squirrelflight pushing a branch toward them and he rushed to her side, using all his strength to push the branch toward them. With a final effort from both of Ashfur and Squirrelflight, the branch formed a bridge across the fire.

Ashfur flinched when a thought shot through him.

_'Why am I helping her?'_

He climbed up on the branch, blocking any cat's path, his eyes a dark blue fire of hatred as he looked at Squirrelflight. He saw her mouth move to form words and her green eyes were widened in terror, but the roaring fire blocked out all sounds around him.

Revenge.  
It was an eye for an eye.  
She would feel pain for what she had done.

Lowering his head, he turned around and faced his former apprentice. The golden tabby stared back at him, disbelief clouding his amber gaze.

Ashfur stared back at his apprentice. Hollyleaf's fur bristled with anger and her green eyes pierced his dark blue. Jayfeather's blue eyes were fixed on him, wonder clouding his blind gaze. Ashfur dug his claws into the bark of the branch.

He wanted Squirrelflight to writhe in agony, like he had done.  
And yet, he realized with a pang, he couldn't.

_'What am I doing?'_ he thought crossly.

He narrowed his eyes at Lionblaze and curled his lip.  
"What are you waiting for? Get out!"  
He jumped inside the ring and pushed the three younger warriors to the bridge. In surprise and bewilderment, they scrambled up on the branch while Squirrelflight helped them. Ashfur watched, waiting for them all to get out.

The heat from the fire was overwhelming, and he could see the flames engulfing the grass around him, closing up on him bit by bit. He opened his jaws and took a deep breath of the poisonous air. Smoke crawled its way into his lungs and he began to feel dizzy.

Maybe he deserved to stay in there and burn to a crisp. It would atone for what he had done, and what he almost did. He had been selfish. A warrior shouldn't be selfish. That was what everyone had told him since the start.

He could hear Lionblaze's voice in the distant, as well as his littermates' voices and even Squirrelflight, but he stood frozen to the ground, unsure what to do.

Suddenly, a white appeared in front of him. He looked up to see a white she-cat with green eyes stand on the edge of the branch, reaching out with her paw for him. Whitewing.

"Ashfur", she called softly. "It's okay. The bridge is safe. I'll help you across."

He stared blankly at her for a moment, then slowly, his eyes began to fill with his old self, and with hope. Light on his paws, he followed Whitewing to the other side of the branch, her touch supporting him the whole way.

His paws touched the soft grass. He had gotten over the bridge. He ran along with Whitewing, Lionblaze, Hollyleaf, Jayfeather and Squirrelflight to the safety of the Clan.

Ashfur breathed in the fresh air, relief washing over him. He had left the fire behind him.

**AN:  
... Yeah, I did this shitzu. XD I'm not all that good with romance, but I hope you enjoy anyways. I was kind of always hoping for Ashfur to get a happy ending. And we all know that Whitewing and Ashfur had SOMETHING going on. Plus, Ivy and Dove look more like Ash/White kits rather than Birch/White kits, let's be honest here XD. Also, review for goodness sake! Whether you liked it or not, I want to hear what you think about this prologue! I really love reading reviews 3 Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Review if you read please!**

Chapter 1  
~Clear Sight~

I killed the squirrel in my grasp with a bite to the neck. Satisfied with my kill, I turned around and trotted back towards camp. On the way back, I stopped to dig up a plump vole I had caught earlier and carried both pieces of fresh-kill in my jaws. I twitched my whiskers in amusement as I pictured how I must look like with my mouth wide and packed with the two dead animals between my teeth.

'Whitewing is going to make fun of me, for sure', I thought. I forced himself not to smile widely since I knew it would look ridicolous if I did. I was forever grateful to the white she-cat, and I was always filled with a happiness I hadn't felt in a long time whenever I was with her or just thought of her. She had helped me when I was my own enemy and I would do whatever I could to repay that.

"Brambleclaw... we need to talk."

I flinched. Squirrelflight's voice. What was she doing there? Soundlessly, I crept closer and hid behind a rock to listen to what she was saying.

"About what?" Brambleclaw's voice asked. His voice was soft and I could hear that he noticed the despair in Squirrelflight's voice.

"About... About our- About Lionblaze, Jayfeather and Hollyleaf", Squirrelflight said. Her voice quivered with sadness. "They're... they're not my kits. They're not your kits."

I felt my heart take a huge leap. 'They're not their kits?!'

"W-What are you saying, Squirrelflight?!" the dark tabby tom asked, his voice leaning towards becoming a wail.

"They're not ours", Squirrelflight repeated. "I... I never wanted to lie to you. I had to... I'm so sorry..." I heard her take a few steps forward.

"Don't get near me!" the Clan deputy hissed furiously. "You lied to me! All this time, you lied to me! I can't believe you... you... you lied! I trusted you!"

The air was heavy with tension and dismay. It felt as if I could choke on it.

"Brambleclaw, please, try to understand", Squirrelflight begged. "I never wanted to hurt you!"

"But you did!" he retorted, pouring out all his anger at the dark ginger she-cat. "Whose kits are they?!"

"I can't tell you", his mate confessed, her voice becoming a desperate whisper. "I promised I wouldn't."

"You promised me that you loved me above everything else", Brambleclaw growled. There was a pause. "It's over, Squirrelflight. I can't be with you anymore."

Shock pulsed from the she-cat. "Brambleclaw, please, I-!"

"I will announce this at the gathering", Brambleclaw continued. "Everyone will know about your lies." He turned around. "Good-bye, Squirrelflight." He walked away.

Silence.

Stifled sobs.

Clear but held-back sobs.

Sniffles.

And then came crying.

'She's in pain! She's in agony! She's begging the one she loves to love her back! Just like I wanted!' a voice called inside my head. It was so loud and so clear that for a moment, I believed it. Then I pushed it down and replaced it with my own voice. 'I wanted it. But not anymore. Go away.'

Suddenly, Squirrelflight stormed around the rock I was hiding behind and stopped dead in her tracks as she saw me. I stared back at her, probably looking incredibly dumb. I figured that I should probably drop the prey, but I was too stunned to do anything.

"How much did you hear?" Squirrelflight demanded, tears still flowing down from her eyes.

"I didn't hear anything", I wanted to say, but it ended up sounding like "Ahsksgbnkduob". I dug my teeth into the bodies of the squirrel and the vole in embarrassment. 'Idiot!'

Squirrelflight stared at me for a moment in confusion before shouldering past me. "Whatever. This is what you wanted anyways, isn't it?"

"No, I don't want this!" I exclaimed, but it sounded like "Nuffhsknnldoshhh!" and I instantly dropped my prey, my ears growing hot as I cursed myself for being an idiot again. But before I could repeat what I wanted to say, she had disappeared into the forest. I thought about following her at first, but I was the last cat she'd need in a moment like that. After all, there was truth in her words. I had wanted her to suffer. No matter what I thought now, I still had wanted it. I had wanted it with so much, and I hated that.

Still shocked, I shambled back to camp.

i...i

"There you are Ashfur!"

Whitewing greeted me by touching noses as I emerged from the thorn tunnel and into camp. "What took you so long? When you're on hunting patrols you're not supposed to take naps, you know."

"Very funny", I said, putting down my prey on the fresh-kill pile. I gave her cheek a quick lick. "So what did you catch then?"

"I caught a sparrow and a squirrel, but Icepaw caught a finch", Whitewing stated proudly.

I raised an eyebrow, impressed. "Really? That's great! See, I told you to trust your instinct."

"Don't try to take credit now", Whitewing play-growled, cuffing me lightly behind my ear.

I chuckled playfully a little before locking my eyes into hers. We were quiet for a moment. I opened my mouth, wanting to say something, but someone just had to interrupt me.

"Whitewing! Come over here for a sec!" Birchfall called. "Let's share fresh-kill!"

My heart sank. That was what I had intended to say. Whitewing gave me a quick 'see ya' and ran off to the light brown tabby tom. 'Oh well.' I spun around to go to my favorite sun-basking spot in the hollow, however in the same moment in which my gaze met the camp entrance, Brambleclaw entered camp. I froze when I saw just how strained his expression was and padded up to him.

"Hi, Brambleclaw", I said, innocently cheerful. "How are-"

"Organize a patrol for the sunset WindClan border patrol, Ashfur", the dark tabby interrupted sternly. "I'm going to rest."

I dipped my head and let him brush past me. Climbing up to my favorite spot, I thought about which cats I should take. The day was slipping away, but it was far from sunset so I had a lot of time.

'Cloudtail, Thornclaw and Brightheart', I decided. My mind wandered off to a certain white she-cat, but I forced it to stay on the patrol. Sunset was drawing near so I jumped down and padded up to the three warriors.

"Brightheart! Cloudtail! Thornclaw! We're going on border patrol", I announced. Cloudtail and Brightheart both got up excitedly while Thornclaw seemed more reluctant to go out to work.

"Did Brambleclaw say I had to go?" Thornclaw asked warily.

"He asked me to organize a patrol", I said, twitching my torn ear in irritation. "Is there a problem with that?" Thornclaw himself often put me in patrols whenever Brambleclaw asked him too, why did it matter when I put him in patrols? I mentally shook my head. Whatever. Thornclaw had become really grumpy on lately.

I took the lead and went out the thorn tunnel with the other three cats following me, Thornclaw bringing up the rear with constant grumbling. Cloudtail made a mocking grimace when Thornclaw wasn't looking and Brightheart and I had to stop a chuckle from escaping our lips.

The walk to the WindClan border was very calm and quiet. Well, Cloudtail was talking a lot with Brightheart and Thornclaw was still grumbling, but the forest itself seemed calm. Sunlight sought its way through the crowns of the trees to reach the earth below and leaves were falling down from the trees. It was hard to believe that the fire had happened only some time ago and that Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight just had broken up.

That was the first time I realized just how many secrets may lie within our Clan. It was just so strange. All this time I had looked at the three kits with jealousy and hatred in my eyes, and now they weren't Squirrelflight's. Did they know? Did Lionblaze, during the whole time, pretend to be their kits? Or were they just as oblivious to the fact as the rest of the Clan?

I directed my ears backwards and frowned at the thought which had just entered my head. 'Or was I and Brambleclaw the only ones who didn't get to know?' Maybe I was still talking crazy (pretty sure that this sounds pretty crazy), but if that was true then nothing made sense anymore. I mean sure, we have done pretty weird stuff in the past, but that would just be crossing the line.

"Err, Cloudtail?" I meowed, going closer to the white tom and whispering into his ear. "You would tell me about some secret if you knew about it, right?"

"Of course I would", Cloudtail answered, raising an eyebrow in confusion. "Why? Do you know something?"

"No, I don't, unfortunately", I replied, the last part being said under breath. "When is the gathering, now again?" I asked aloud to the whole patrol.

"In three days", Brightheart said.

"You can't even remember that?" Thornclaw scoffed.

"Heh, I guess I have my head in the clouds somewhere", I responded with a grin. I didn't have to fake it. It felt good to smile and know that I wasn't forcing it. Though, underneath that smile, worry was churning inside of me. In three days, Brambleclaw would announce the truth. ThunderClan's honor would sink with it. I couldn't let that happen, could I? What could I do?

'Force him to keep silent!' that voice, that cursed voice, chanted inside my head. 'He deserves it! Remember, remember? He was your friend and he betrayed you! He took Squirrelflight from you! You want to have his blood on your claws!'

'No I don't', I growled. 'Shut up. I'm not you.'

And yet, I knew I was. Insanity still had a grip on me. Perhaps it would never leave.

'If you won't leave, I'll drive you out', I decided simply. Whitewing would scold me for giving up so easily if I decided not to, anyways.

**Author's Note: Shooooooooooooooort chapter! ^^; Sorry, next one will be longer, I promise! Other than that, I'm kind of happy with this chappie. Or maybe I just am too easily happy with stuff, maybe it's horrible, Idk. Review please! Thanks so much for reading!**


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